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enEuropean clubs benefit from UEFA agreementThe European Club Association say a new agreement with UEFA will see clubs play a greater role in the governance of the game,while also receiving more funding.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/european-clubs-benefit-uefa-agreement
Following a meeting at the 14th ECA General Assembly in Stockholm, the two bodies renewed their formal partnershiipuntil May 2022, with increased prize funds for UEFA's top two tournaments among the key points.
Under the new deal, the winners of the Champions League next season will claim€15 million, a risefrom €10.5m, while the Europa Leaguewinners will receieve€6.5m, up from €5m.
Funds will be shared more fairly, according to the ECA, with sides in the qualifying rounds andclubs in medium orsmaller championships also receievinga greaterproportion of funds.
Two ECA club representatives will alsoparticipate in UEFA's Executive Committeeasco-optedmembers and will have full voting rights.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, ECA andBayern Munich chairman, said in a statement: "With both governing bodies,we secured in open,fair,but not always easy discussions a stable international match calendar and increased club benefits for the release of players that participate in the Euros and World Cup.
"Furthermore, in the future ECA will not only be directly involved in the shaping of European football through its participation in the UEFA Executive Committee, but also benefit from higher funding.
"All clubs will benefit from a higher share of the increased Champions League and Europa League revenues for 2015-2018, in particular the Europa League participants."
news_articleTue, 31 Mar 2015 10:55:16 +0000368865 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comInsigne out to bolster Napolis seasonFollowing his return from a long-term injury,Lorenzo Insigne maintains Napoli have not switched off and that they remain focused on winning further silverware.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/insigne-out-bolster-napoli-season-after-lay
The Italy international has not played since November, havingruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, but was an unused substitute in the games against Verona and Atalanta.
It meant Insigne missed Napoli's Supercoppa Italiana victory over Juventus in Doha, although Rafael Benitez's men arein the running to defend theCoppa Italia and challenge for the UEFA Europa League.
A Serie A title win looks all but gone for another season, but Insigne told Corriere dello Sport: "For those who play forNapoli, there is never a time where you can switch off.
"Now we enter a phase in the league full of crucialgames, because there areimportant clashes in the league, the challenges of the Europa League and the Coppa Italiasemi-final.
"We are alive and we will prove it. The next game is always the most important,therefore,we must focus primarily on Roma, then we will think to the other games.
"But the priority, as always, is thechallenge."
A run of four league games without a win has seen fifth-placed Napoli slip 20 points off leaders and holdersJuventus, although Insigne remains confidentin Napoli's ability to challenge for a treble.
"I have seen moments of great football," he added.
"We are ateam that has had predictable difficulties, because you play every three days and sometimesyou are made to pay.
"But the [Supercoppa]victory in Doha is part of our history, it isa success against the reigning Italian champions who will almost certainly bethe Italian champions in 10matches."
news_articleTue, 31 Mar 2015 09:18:10 +0000368831 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comKiev stadium partially closed after probeDynamo Kiev will face Fiorentina in the UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg with a partially closed stadium following the racist behaviour of fans against Everton.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/dynamo-kiev-stadium-partially-closed-after-racism-probe
The Ukrainian side beat Everton 6-4 on aggregate with a 5-2 win in the second leg at theOlimpiyskiy National Sports Complex eight days ago.
However, their home advantage will be limited somewhat against Fiorentina on April 16 after UEFAhanded down the punishment, which refers particularly to blocks 43 and 45 of the arena.
Additionally, Dynamo have also be fined €15,000 as a sanction for fans letting offfireworks and insufficient organisationpertaining to blocked stairways.
news_articleFri, 27 Mar 2015 15:23:55 +0000367287 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comInter, Celtic fined over fans with fireworksUEFA has fined both Inter and Celtic after fans let off fireworks during the second leg of their Europa League last 32 meeting.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/inter-and-celtic-fined-fans-setting-fireworks
Last month's game at San Siro finished 1-0 in Inter's favour, as Roberto Mancini's side sealed their place in the last 16 by virtue of a 4-3 aggregate scoreline.
In a statement released by UEFA, European football's governing body declared that both clubs had been fined €5,000 for the behaviour of the fans.
The statement also revealed that Celtic had been fined a further €8,000 for the "improper conduct of their team" after Virgil vanDijkwas sent off for two bookings in the first half andfive other players were cautioned.
Elsewhere, Dynamo Moscow havealso been fined €20,000 after their supporters also let off fireworks duringthe 0-0 draw at Anderlecht in the last 32 first leg tie.
news_articleMon, 23 Mar 2015 15:08:35 +0000365597 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comZelic: Dortmunds Europa League hopes fadingBorussia Dortmunds three-game winless streak has left former defender Ned Zelic doubting whether the club can win the race to qualify for next seasons UEFA Europa League.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/dortmunds-europa-league-hopes-fading-zelic
UEFA Champions League qualification is out of the question for Dortmund, having flirted with relegation during the early stages of the 2014-15 Bundesliga season, but participation in Europe's second-tier club competition remains a slim possibility.
Dortmund find themselves eight points adrift of sixth-placed Augsburg, who occupy the final Europa League spot with nine matches remaining.
However, the momentum generated following four successive league wins has come to a complete halt in recent weeks.
After playing out back-to-back goalless draws against Hamburg and Cologne, Dortmund crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Juventus 5-1 on aggregate during the week - a competition that offered Jurgen Klopp's men some joy amid their Bundesliga woes.
Zelic, who won the 1994-95 Bundesliga title during his three-year spell with Dortmund, fears Wednesday's 3-0 drubbing at home to Juve could derail their European fading hopes.
"There is a lot of individual quality in the team where you can go on a run and win five or six in a row. But the result against Juventus is demoralising," the 43-year-old Australian told Perform.
"I thought they would go on a run that would get them at least a UEFA Europa League spot because they were doing so well.
"Obviously after the winter break they drew with Leverkusen then they had that disaster against Augsburg at home but they had gone on a really good run, which was killed with these results against Cologne and Hamburg, where they should have got points.
"I was kind of thinking if it would be great if they could at least scrape Europa League but these last couple of results have taken the wind out of it all.
"I hope [the Juventus] result does not kill them mentally because they were so poor."
news_articleSat, 21 Mar 2015 05:21:34 +0000364373 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comDynamo Kiev facing UEFA probe over racismDynamo Kiev are being investigated for allegations of racist behaviour following Thursdays UEFA Europa League win over Everton.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/dynamo-facing-uefa-probe-over-racism
Dynamo advanced to the quarter-finals of the Europa League via a 5-2 drubbing of Everton at Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex on Thursday but their achievement has been soured by allegations of "racist behaviour".
The Ukrainian powerhouse, who triumphed 6-4 on aggregate, will meet Fiorentina in the quarter-finals.
UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body will deal with the case on March 26.
Dynamo are also facing separate charges, with the club in hot water for setting off fireworks and insufficient organisation, pertaining to some blocked stairways - as detailed in a statement from UEFA.
Meanwhile, Barcelona also have a case to answer after the European governing body opened proceedings for an "illicit banner" displayed during the UEFA Champions League second-leg fixture against Manchester City at Camp Nou on Wednesday.
The case will be heard on May 21.
news_articleFri, 20 Mar 2015 23:45:57 +0000364272 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comEuropa holders Sevilla drawn against ZenitUEFA Europa Leader holders Sevilla will take on Zenit in the quarter-finals of the competition.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/holders-sevilla-drawn-against-zenit
Unai Emery's side claimed the title with victory over Benfica last season and will need to overcome Andre Villas-Boas' men in the last eight next month to defend their crown.
Zenit are also former winners of the competition and were kept from drawing Ukrainian sides Dynamo Kiev or Dnipro due to political tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Following their extra-time win over Ajax, Dnipro will face a Club Brugge side unbeaten in this season's competition while Kiev will take on Roma's conquerors Fiorentina.
Rafael Benitez - bidding to win the competition for a third time in its various forms - sees his Napoli side take on Bundesliga high-flyers Wolfsburg.
The ties will be played on April 16 and 23.
Draw in full:
Sevilla v Zenit
Dnipro v Club Brugge
Dynamo Kiev v Fiorentina
Wolfsburg v Napoli
news_articleFri, 20 Mar 2015 12:14:18 +0000363959 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comEmery: La Liga still priority for SevillaSevilla head coach Unai Emery insists securing third place in La Liga this season is his top priority despite progressing in the UEFA Europa League.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/emery-la-liga-still-priority-sevilla
The defending champions moved into the quarter-finals on Thursday with a 5-2 aggregate victory over Villarreal, while they sitjust five points off the top three in the league.
And, though Emeryis keen to go as far as possible in Europe, progress in the league will be his main focus as they look for a return to the Champions League next season.
"The more dreams we have, the better," the head coachsaid.
"Now we have an exciting month in the Europa League coming up, but we know that the league is the main competition, which allows us to experience these precious moments in Europe.
"This team are flowing with maturity. We grew as a team last year, and although a few pillars of that team left, the existing players have helped the new arrivals to compete in [the same] manner, especially against strong opponents in Europe."
Sevilla meet Villarreal for the third time in 10 days on Sunday - this time in the league - having won the past two meetings.
news_articleFri, 20 Mar 2015 09:36:45 +0000363873 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comRoma chief Sabatini admits Salah mistakeAfter seeing Roma crash out of the UEFA Europa League to Fiorentina,Walter Sabatini admittedhe made a mistake in the way he handled the clubs January recruitment.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/sabatini-admits-salah-mistake
Roma were sent out 4-1 on aggregate after a 3-0 defeat atthe Stadio Olimpico, leaving Rudi Garcia's men facing up to a season without silverware.
Having exited the Coppa Italia and with 14 points between themselves and Serie A leaders Juventus, Sabatini felt the club's inability to sign in-form Fiorentina loan star Mohamed Salah has been detrimental to their recent form.
Sabatini - who instead opted forSeydou Doumbia from CSKA Moscow -told Sport Mediaset:"I made a mistake in January.
"The team needed strengthening in attack and the choices I made haven't had the desired effect so far.
"I have to take the blame for those mistakes because they have weighed on the team and the coach.
"The blame lies exclusively at my door, but I'll analyse everything further down the line because it's easy to hold your hands up now.
"Salah is a player to be regretted and another mistake that I made.
"It is easy to accuse yourself without secondary effects,but what I say now will still be valid in future.
"Nobody is abandoning ship, least of all myself. Quitting now would be like escaping and that's not something I'm used to doing. I have to think about the consequences that have led us to dropping points."
news_articleFri, 20 Mar 2015 09:22:20 +0000363877 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comRanocchia: Inter must focus to save seasonInter face a critical end to the season as they look to rescue some pride following their UEFA Europa League exit, says Andrea Ranocchia.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/inter-must-focus-save-season-says-ranocchia
Roberto Mancini's side have been well off the pace in Serie A,have exited the Coppa Italia and are now out of Europe after a 5-2 aggregate defeat to Wolfsburg.
Thursday's2-1 defeat at San Siro extended Inter's winless run to five games in all competitions, and Ranocchia knows things need to change in the final 11 games to avoid a disastrous campaign.
"We are disappointed because we really believed that we could qualify and had prepared well for this game," he told the club's official website.
"We had many chances but unfortunately we could not use them, unlike them.
"Now we must concentrate all our strength on the championship. We need to do something to cut the gap in the standings."
Inter's fans left their team in no doubt about their feelings after the Wolfsburg defeat, with those remaining in the stadium jeering the playersoff the pitch at full-time.
news_articleFri, 20 Mar 2015 08:51:48 +0000363864 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comVillas-Boas: I lost my head against TorinoZenit coach Andre Villas-Boas has apologised for his part in a touchline row with Torino counterpart Giampiero Ventura on Thursday.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/villas-boas-i-lost-my-head
Villas-Boas saw his side progress to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals 2-1 on aggregate, despite losing the second leg 1-0in Turin.
After the final whistle, Villas-Boas got into an angry exchange with the Torino bench, and subsequently expressed regretfor his actions.
"I lost my head," he toldSport Mediaset.
"I got it completely wrong and I apologise for my behaviour.
"I was angry with the Torino team manager, but it was not the behaviour of a coach and I am sorry."
news_articleFri, 20 Mar 2015 08:24:17 +0000363854 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comHecking hails huge result for WolfsburgWolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking labelled his sides win over Inter as a big step in their development, as they advanced to the lasteight of the UEFA Europa League.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/hecking-hails-wolfsburgs-huge-result
While Wolfsburg's starting line-up included the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Diego Benaglio and Luiz Gustavo, who all played at last year's World Cup, Hecking insisted his team "are not that experienced".
In that light, Hecking hailed Wolfsburg's 2-1 triumph in Milan as a "huge" result, as they cruised past Inter 5-2 on aggregate to reach the Europa League quarter-finals.
Wolfsburg last appeared in a continental competition in 2009-10 when they finished third in their UEFA Champions League group and were eliminated by Fulham in the Europa League quarter-finals.
"I think that even though some might not think like that, we are a very young team in comparison [to Inter]," Hecking said at his post-match media conference.
"We are not that experienced, even if some of our players play for national teams. But for some of the guys, this game was huge, a challenge. So this has been a big step for them in their individual development and hopefully it was not their last game at this level.
"Now, we have two more games, but maybe more will follow."
news_articleFri, 20 Mar 2015 02:54:28 +0000363743 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comNo Banega, no worries, says Sevillas EmerySevilla coach Unai Emery was impressed with how his team got over the absence of midfielder Ever Banega against Villarreal in the UEFA Europa League.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/no-banega-no-worries-emery
Emery's side defeated Villarreal 2-1 at home to wrap up a 5-2 aggregate victory in the Europa League round of 16 but had to do so without Banega, who missed the match after reporting some discomfort in his quad at training on Thursday.
Emery picked Vicente Iborra to replace Banega in Sevilla's attacking midfield slot but conceded his team had not dealt with the Argentine's absence very well to begin with at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Banega had played in seven of Sevilla's previous nine Europa League games.
"We lacked a bit of control and the late absence of Banega had an impact on us," Emery told Gol TV. "But we focused on where we were strong and we waited for our chances to come."
After a scratchy start at home, Sevilla opened the scoring through Iborra in the 69th minute and although Giovani dos Santos equalised for Villarreal, Denis Suarez's header with seven minutes remaining saw Emery's team triumph.
Sevilla's coach insisted he has no preference as to who they face next in the Europa League, which they won last season.
The La Liga club were joined by Wolfsburg, Fiorentina, Dynamo Kiev, Napoli, Club Brugge, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Zenit in reaching the quarter-finals on Thursday.
"We do not want any rivals in particular. The hype will end up taking over," Emery said.
"We'll wait to find out who we draw and then we'll prepare."
news_articleFri, 20 Mar 2015 02:08:00 +0000363728 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comSalah is Messi-like, claims Violas MontellaFiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella likened Mohamed Salahs dribbling prowess to Lionel Messi after his teams dominant 3-0 UEFA Europa League win over Roma.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/salah-messi-montella
First-half goals from Marcos Alonso and Jose Basanta after Gonzalo Rodriguez's opening penalty effectively killed the tie after 22 minutes, while Salah struck the crossbar and post on the end of dazzling solo runs in the second period.
The Egyptian winger joined Fiorentina on loan in January as part of the deal that saw Juan Cuadrado move to Premier League leaders Chelsea, and Montella is delighted with how quickly Salah has adapted to Serie A.
"So far perhaps we got the better end of that deal,"he told Mediaset Premium.
"We knew Salah's characteristics, but didn't expect him to have such an immediate impact in Italian football.
"Perhaps only Leo Messi is quicker than him with the ball at his feet."
Montella also paid tribute to the mental strength shown by his team in a clinical collective performance.
"The win was deserved and this team has grown so much in terms of mentality,"he added.
"The side showed how much it wanted this result.
"We've been through a shocking run of fixtures and come out well. Soon there will be another and we keep fighting for our objectives."
news_articleThu, 19 Mar 2015 23:30:14 +0000363690 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comCoach Garcia calls for Roma salvage jobRoma coach Rudi Garcia urged his players to rescue their season after crashing out of the UEFA Europa League to Serie A counterparts Fiorentina.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/garcia-calls-roma-salvage-job-after-europa-humiliation
Garcia's men took a 1-1 draw into the home leg of the last 16 tie at the Stadio Olimpico but found themselves 3-0 down after 22 minutes as their first-half performance descended into farce.
Mohamed Salah hit the crossbar and post after the interval as Fiorentina tried and failed to add to a 4-1 aggregate triumph amid fury from the home fans who remained in the ground, with the iconic Curva Sud virtually deserted.
Roma face a battle to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League having won only twice inSerie A since the turn of the year and Garcia struggled to conceal his horror at the manner in which their European campaign crashed to a halt.
"It was an unexpected defeat,"he told Mediaset Premium.
"Fiorentina deserve compliments for making the most of our gifts to them, but I am mortified. We had the right desire at the start, but paid a heavy price for individual errors.
"Now we have to salvage the season with second place. If we qualify for the Champions League, it will be an acceptable campaign."
Amid growing discontent from the terraces - Roma last won at the Olimpico in November - Garcia has insisted that his players must show character to get the supporters back on-side.
"There are 11 battles remaining in Serie A. It’s just the staff and the players. I will not let go for a second, we have to lift our heads and get back up.
"This is what I expect from my players. I spoke to them after the game, telling them that anyone with pride and character will follow me. If anyone is weak, then they do not interest me.
"I talk about character because some players seem to be afraid of playing at the Olimpico. Our stadium must get back to being a pleasant venue for us.
"In this moment of difficulty that's the message I want to give to the team."
He added: "The leader must set the example and I remain motivated.The season can still end well. We need more character."
news_articleThu, 19 Mar 2015 22:59:13 +0000363670 at http://www.fourfourtwo.com